Family Pictures

We got Evans Family pictures taken this year.  It's the first year we've done it since before Sean's mission!  I remember thinking that they were nuts to have me be in the pictures!  I guess it all worked out.  Seriously though, that sure was risky business.

Anyways, here are some of the kids.  I'll post others later, but I simply could not resist posting these.  These 5 kids are easily the most adorable children on the planet.  All of their personalities shine through these photos.  They are all so different, but so similar.  

"The boys" take good care of Mara.  She definitely doesn't have a shortage of boys to look out for her.  Kayden and Maddux have always been so tolerant of her girly ways.  They treat her like an equal and are seriously so good to her.  She is so lucky to have such awesome cousins.

I always wanted a cousin my age.  When Steph and I found out we were pregnant at the same time I was super excited for our kids.  Having them both be boys was icing on the cake.  

We couldn't ask for a better brood of cousins.

     

           

Here comes Santa Claus

We went to Lindon to ride the Polar Express.  Super cute.  Part way through you get off the train and meet Santa.  As we were sitting there waiting I looked down at these 2 cute faces.  Holy cow adorbs.  They were both seriously excited to meet Santa. 

This Christmas has already been the best by far.  Kids just make it so much more meaningful and magical.

Oops...

I'm pretty sure I've failed this test.  What test you ask?  Just life.  No biggie, right?

I have spent the last 6 years complaining.  Nothing made me happy enough.  Maybe I could be happy if we had our own place?  Wait, we had no money....so that didn't make me happy either.  Maybe I'd be happy if you we had more money and our own place?  Wait, I miss my husband.  What husband?  Oh, you mean that guy that sleeps here for a couple hours during the day in between working and being a full-time student?  Yeah, that guy....hmmm...I sure miss him.

I can't even tell you how much time I have spent being unhappy.  Aside from legit depression and anxiety I have spent way too much time dwelling on the negative things in our lives.

Next week we will be closing a long chapter of our lives.  Not for good, but for a little while.  As I look at the possibilities of our future I am excited.  Then I realized I am always excited for the future, but hardly ever for the present.  How can I be so excited about something only to get there and be disappointed?  It's this endless cycle in my life.

If only I could get out of High School....If only I could get married.....If only I could have babies.......If only we could be done with school.....

If only....

Why can't I be happy with where I am in the present?

Sure my kids get sick.  They get very cranky.  They fight.  They test my patience.  I catch myself thinking that when they get older life will get easier.  How do I let myself get into that cycle over and over again.  I'm sure when we get to that stage I'll be unhappy about something else and telling myself that things will get easier when they are out of the house etc.

My Grandma (who is a very wise woman-having raised 9 amazing kids) told my mom once "if you can't be happy in the stage you are in, you won't be happy in the next.  Don't spend your time wishing for the future, spend it loving the present."

I've probably heard that like a million times.  For some reason today it rings true.  I have failed this test.  But guess what?  I get to try again.  Isn't that amazing?

Don't let a bad day make you think you have a bad life.
"Hope is putting faith to work, when doubting would be easier."  Thomas S. Monson
Be nice to yourself.  It's hard to be happy when someone is mean to you all the time.
For God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and love and of a sound mind.
2 Timothy 1:7
You will come to know that what appears today as a sacrifice will prove instead to be the greatest investment you will ever make.  Gordon B. Hinckley
The reason we struggle with insecurity is because we compare our behind-the-scenes with everyone's highlight reel.
"In the end, the number of prayers we say may contribute to our happiness, but the number of prayers we answer may be of even greater importance." Dieter F. Uchtdorf
The happiness of your life depends on the quality of your thoughts.
"There is no one perfect way to be a good mother... Each mother has different challenges, different skills and abilities, and certainly different children... What matters is that a mother loves her children deeply and, in keeping with the devotion she has for God and her husband, prioritizes them above all else." Elder M. Russell Ballard
“We women have a lot to learn about simplifying our lives. We have to decide what is important and then move along at a pace that is comfortable for us. We have to develop the maturity to stop trying to prove something. We have to learn to be content with what we are.” Marjorie Hinckley
"When we put God first, all other things fall into proper place." Ezra Taft Benson
Faith doesn't make things easy, it makes them possible.
"Is fat really the worst thing a person can be?  Is fat worse than vindictive, jealous, shallow, vain, boring, or even cruel?"  Not to me. J.K. Rowling
Feed your faith, and your fears will starve to death.

Even though I didn't pass this test with flying colors, I have learned a lot.  The biggest lesson I've learned is this:

"Blessings" by Laura Story To here the song click Here

We pray for blessings, we pray for peace
Comfort for family, protection while we sleep
We pray for healing, for prosperity
We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering
And all the while, You hear each spoken need
Yet love us way too much to give us lesser things

'Cause what if your blessings come through rain drops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know You're near
What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise

We pray for wisdom, Your voice to hear
We cry in anger when we cannot feel You near
We doubt your goodness, we doubt your love
As if every promise from Your word is not enough
And all the while, You hear each desperate plea
And long that we'd have faith to believe

'Cause what if your blessings come through rain drops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know You're near
What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise

When friends betray us
When darkness seems to win
We know that pain reminds this heart
That this is not,
This is not our home
It's not our home

'Cause what if your blessings come through rain drops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know You're near

What if my greatest disappointments or the aching of this life
Is the revealing of a greater thirst this world can't satisfy
What if trials of this life
The rain, the storms, the hardest nights
Are your mercies in disguise

One thing I know for certain:  Heavenly Father is there and He loves me.  Whatever happens in this life is only meant to make me a better person and to get me closer to Him.

Isn't it Ironic?

I wake up on Thanksgiving morning to one more thing broken.  I just had to laugh.  It has actually made me think of all the ironic things happening in our lives lately.  If you would have asked me yesterday what word I'd use to describe our lives it definitely would NOT have been ironic.  So today has been filled with lots of laughs (maybe a tear or 2...but mostly laughs).

I am thankful for a Heavenly Father that knows what I truly need, even better than I do.

Pics of the Monsters at the party

Introducing MabelStreet

I decided to open up a shop on ETSY.  Mostly to sell my printable parties that I do, but there are also some christmas cards and home decor items.  To introduce y'all to it, I decided to do some Halloween Printables for you!  They are designed to fit in an 8x10 picture frame.  Enjoy!

Infact, my friend Alicia (owner and operator of Alicia States Photography) came and photographed Logan's birthday party for me so I could start listing items!  I'll post pictures of that in a little bit.  Until then....go check out the shop!  Click on the Page at the top labeled Mabel Street and it'll take you right to it!

Moreland, ID

We just got back from a fun weekend trip to visit my Grandparents in Idaho!  The kids had a blast (as always) and it was fun to spend some time with my mom and grandparents.  We left Sean at home since he had work and school, and headed up after school on Friday.

These are just a couple of pictures of our adventure.  I'll post the others later.

Life Lately

At Sean's birthday dinner with Grammy

  

Playing in Grammy's yard

Lets see....what has happened since I last blogged?  We finished our summer.  I have mixed feelings about that.  On one hand it is a really exciting stage of life to start (Mara goes to 4 day a week preschool and Sean started his last semester), but on the other it is sad to see this summer end because we had so much fun.

Let's talk about Mara first.  She has started her first official team sport: soccer.  While driving to her first practice she let me know that she "has been waiting her whole life for this day".  She talks about soccer, so makes up dances about soccer, and she sings songs about soccer.  You probably wouldn't guess it if you watched her though...how shall I say it?  She gets a little distracted.  She might see a flower that needs picking, or a pile of dirt that needs stomping, and heaven forbid she not look at all her admiring fans and give them big smiles!  Really though, it is all super cute.  After her first game we had to teach her that it is okay to steal the ball from someone on the other team.  She thought it was too mean.  Hey-at least she is worried about sharing, right?  She also insists on exercising every day so she can be strong for soccer.  She joins me and Sean in our workouts, and when that gets boring she makes up her own.  I'm just gonna say it: I seriously hope she loves soccer and picks that sport to play out of all her options.  I think as her mom I'm not suppose to say those kinds of things but it's what I'm thinking!  And hey, as long as I don't say it to her I should be good.
As mentioned previously she is in Preschool.  It is technically her 2nd year, but since she only went for 3 months before we moved I don't know if that counts.  After her first day of class she now sings the alphabet correctly.  Instead of: H I K K L M N O P, she sings H I J K L M N O P.  I don't know how many times I've tried to teach her that, but in one day of class she decided to say it like her teacher suggested.  Gotta love her.
While it is a super fun stage of life to enter (revolving my life around my kids schedules instead of vice versa), I do have mixed feelings.  It is fun to be "out of the house" more often.  Especially since that is the thing I probably complain about the most.  It's fun to see her learning new things and gaining new experiences.  It is fun to see her personality when put into different situations.  It is also kind of sad.  I feel like maybe I haven't prepared her enough to tackle life.  Don't worry, I know she is only 4...but now a lot of other people have a big impact in her life.  I find myself wondering if I spend enough quality time with her while she was home with me all day.  The answer makes me kind of sad.  I'm sure that I didn't.  I'm sure I acted annoyed too often, or yelled too much, or plugged her in front of the T.V. so I could "have a break" too often.  Now I'm wishing I could take all of those moments back.
Those thoughts have led me to really enjoy my time with them more and worry about the little things less.  Remember I said LESS not never. lol
Logan is crazy.  We are trying the potty training thing.  I say trying because we are no where near completion.  I've found that the best thing to do is let him run around naked and he will go to the bathroom when he needs to.  Sadly, he has pooped on the carpet twice.  Both times were seriously rotten.  Him running around naked also leads to him doing a naked dance on the patio for the world to see.  That boy sure loves the freedom that being naked affords him.  He can hold his pee for hours.  I know this because I made him sit on his potty chair for 5 1/2 hours (don't worry it is a very padded cushy seat and I sat him in the front room with movies on) and he refused to pee.  We had to leave somewhere so I put his diaper on and he immediately filled it up.  He is just a stubborn dude.  When I asked him why he won't just go on the potty his reply is "because I don't like to!"  Lovely.  I'm hoping we have him potty trained by the time he's 12.  Ha ha, I know-but my real goal is to have him 100% trained by the time he goes into Sunbeams.  That is in 4 months.  He is going to be one of the youngest in his class where Mara was one of the oldest.  It is super crazy to see how different they are.  Mara basically potty trained herself because she thought it was yucky to poop in a diaper.  Logan thinks it is hilarious.  Gotta love little boys, right?
Sean has started his last semester to receive his Bachelor's degree.  It's gonna be a long couple of months, but at least it's almost over.  I'll blog more about that later, but right now my bed is screaming for me to hop in!!!

Scavenger Hunt

I've been seeing some super cute scavenger hunt ideas on Pinterest lately.  Sadly, my kids couldn't do them because every one that I found had to be read.  Since my kids don't read yet, that made it impossible.  So I decided to make my own!  Then I realized that a lot of my friends that had pinned those same hunts had kids that were too little too....so here they are.  They are nothing special, but we are super excited to head out this afternoon and have some fun!

I left a gap on purpose in the picture one.  They get to draw a picture of the coolest thing they see on our walk.  Logan will probably have to use the back since his drawing skills might not be able to keep a picture that small ;)

P.S.

My kitchen looks virtually the same as it did a month ago...


I lost steam.
I got sidetracked with school (this semester is stressing me out).
I got plain lazy.

Hopefully I can find the motivation to go at it again!  Maybe this weekend?  Hmmm....we'll see.

Frienemies

Thanks Alan Smoot for capturing a good picture of the 3 of them.  It's never been done before!

Don't let their innocent faces fool you.  Oh no...these 3 are quite the trio. 

Mara mothers them.

Logan terrorizes them.

and Lizzie frames them.

They are definitely best friends and worst enemies.

They love each other literally to death.

Sappy Stuff

I'm in a very sentimental mood today.  Maybe it was because I was listening to our play list Brittani Lufs Sean.  Maybe it's because I am so super excited about some future prospects coming up in our lives.  Maybe it's because I am just so gosh darn proud of all Sean's hard work.

As I was painting today the song You Had Me From Hello by Kenny Chesney came on.  I forgot it was even on that play list.  It reminded me of just how easy it is to love Sean.  The #1 question I get from people about our relationship is, how/why did you forgive Sean when he got home from his mission?  If you don't already know, he wrote me off about a year into his mission.  Everyone who knew me at the time knew just how mad I was.  We're talking, don't even say the name Sean around me or I'll blow, kind of mad.

When the day came that he was coming home I was a total basket case.  That's all I could think about at school.  During school my mom called to let me know that he had just left our house, and that he'd be back later to talk to me.  I couldn't even believe the audacity he had to just pop on over to my house!  At the same time I was also super excited.  My friends at school we're super cute and helped me get all cute before we left that day.  One friend even had me borrow her necklace because it went so good with my outfit.  I had to go straight to work and there was no way I was going to change into that Sport Clips uniform!!  What if he decided to stop by there?!?  That was a big no no, but it seemed like nobody wanted to be the one to tell me that I needed to change...haha.  As my shift passed I grew more and more nervous.  So nervous that even though I had taken Midol that is full of caffeine, I still got a caffeinated beverage.  Suddenly my nerves turned into nausea and a headache.  Looking back I realize I totally overdosed on caffeine!  I had to go back to the shampoo bowls and sit in the dark with my eyes shut.  After an hour nap (again during which no one wanted to be the one to tell me to get back to work, I can't even imagine how I must have been acting for everyone to let me do whatever I wanted that night) I felt a lot better and it was closing time so I closed everything up and headed home.

Now, I knew that this was the day he was coming home for months.  I conveniently had a date planned for that evening.  Even as I was sick with nerves at school and work, all I could picture was Sean coming over and me saying, "oh, sorry....I have a date.  I have to go."  Ooooo, it was going to feel SOOOOO good to tell him that!!!

Then I saw him.

Crap.  My plan was foiled.  (I was 3 hours late to my date...and that poor guy actually waited...I felt bad because he was a pretty nice guy-but what can ya do?)  Sean and I left that night with the promise of him coming to my school in the morning for a haircut.  We hugged.  Like, a lot. 

It was weird cutting his hair.  After not seeing him for 2 years and spending 1/2 of that time hating him, here I was running my fingers through his hair.  I could barely keep my smile and the butterflies contained.  My friends helped me convince my instructor to let me go with Sean after his haircut.  That was a pretty big deal since it was a Saturday.  I think anyone who saw us, knew we needed to be alone.  Wink, wink!

We went to a park and talked.  He kissed me, and let me tell you something!  It was the best ever!  Talk about moving fast!  This was the guy who took 3 months of seeing each other every single day to finally get the guts to kiss me the first time.  Not to mention the awkward missionary opposite sex thing.  Apparently Sean didn't struggle with that awkwardness!  It was conference weekend October 2006.  The next day we made a date to go look at rings.  Two days together was all it took to decide.  Nine days after returning from his mission I had that sparkly ring on my finger. 

Some people called it, some people were shocked.  No one was more shocked than me though.

So my answer to that question is pretty simple.  He seriously had me from hello.  That is all it took.  I can't explain it, I'm just glad that it happened.

Oh my word, look how young we look!  Sean looks like a baby!

One word, that's all you said
Somethin' in your voice caused me to turn my head.
Your smile, just captured me
And you were in my future as far as I could see
And I don't know how it happened, but it happened still
You asked me if I love you, if I always will

Well you had me from "Hello"
I felt love start to grow
The moment that I looked into your eyes, you won me
It was over from the start
You completely stole my heart
And now you won't let go
I never even had a chance you know
You had me from "Hello"

Inside, I built a wall
So high around my heart, I thought I'd never fall
One touch, you brought it down
The bricks of my defenses scattered on the ground
And I swore to me I wasn't gonna love again
The last time was the last time I let someone in

But you had me from "Hello"
I felt love start to grow
The moment that I looked into your eyes, you won me
It was over from the start
You completely stole my heart
And now you won't let go
I never even had a chance you know
You had me from "Hello"

That's all you said
Somethin' in your voice caused me to turn my head
You had me from "Hello"
You had me from "Hello"
Girl I've loved you from "Hello"

I need your help

I mentioned in the last post about needing your opinion on something so here it is.  

I'm thinking of painting the section of cabinets between the fridge and the corner wall a different color, and putting up some bead board for the "back splash", also changing the counter top to wood, adding some corbels to attach the top and bottom cabinets, and lastly some furniture feet at the floor.  My hope is that it would then look like a custom furniture built-in.  Here is my sad attempt at a drawing of it.

 

This is that section of cabinets.  It goes right up to the fridge on the right hand side, and the very left of the picture is the start of the stove section.

So what do you think?  If you walked into a house as a buyer and saw it, what would you think?  Would you think it was really neat?  Or would it turn you off completely from the house entirely?  I guess I should mention that I haven't decided what color to paint it.  Maybe yellow?  I don't know....  Maybe I could keep the color the same (white) but still add the wood counter top, the bead board, furniture feet, and corbels?


Here is a pic of a corbel incase you are wondering what the crap I am talking about:

So the bottom of the pic would be attached to the bottom of the top cabinets and the top part in the picture would go straight down and end on the counter top.

Also, Ikea has a size of wood counter top that would fit for only $49.99  I think that is pretty amazeballs.

So, what do you think?  Good idea?  Lame attempt?  PLEASE let me know....and give your honest opinion.  I won't hold it against ya ;)

Kitchen Progress

When we moved in the kitchen looked like this:

Ummm...yeah.  Not gonna work for me.  The plus side was that I absolutely love white kitchens.  Not that this white was working, but at least the really hard work had already been done and I could have an "easy" job re-doing them.... yeah right!

Oh, and no, that is not wallpaper.  It is hand painted stripes and argyle...vomit and double vomit.  Let's not even discuss the nasty wood molding.  Can you say hunting lodge anyone?

You might be wondering why we would choose a place where I hated everything but the appliances.  Well, let's just say that in our price range it was either full-blown meth house, or a little elbow grease-and besides, it really was nice (I just threw up in my mouth while saying that) but just not for me.  Sorry if any of you fall in love with the before pictures.

 Even though we painted the walls and molding before we actually moved in, the cabinets still needed to be done.  Once the busy walls were taken care of, the yellow cream cabinets with a really sad attempt at a brown glaze didn't bother me as much.  I think it is safe to say that most of that probably had to do with the fact that the very idea of picking up a paint brush made me want to puke.  Lately Sean has been maxing out on overtime on top of doing his internship at the Alzheimer's Association.  We already had the primer and paint left over from painting the molding.  Add those 2 together: bored wife + "free" supplies and you get =

Step Four: Admit defeat.  Just kidding!!!!  Decide what doors need to be replaced first (medicine cabinet, silverware drawer etc.) and start priming and painting those babies!

I will say that everything looks so much better already!  The wall color I chose looks so much nicer than before.  Although in these pictures it looks quite boring, but it is a nice dreamy blue.  I've primed the front side of the doors for the bottom, and tomorrow I will turn them over and prime the back side.  Then Monday I will paint one side...you get the picture?  It is such a process, but I've already decided that it is so worth it.  Not only does it look better already, but it keeps my mind off the fact that I virtually have no husband to speak of.

The kids are also loving it.  I already mentioned that Logan is having a blast with the doors off, but they also think I'm pretty much the coolest mom ever because we eat every meal on the family room floor (on our picnic blanket).  Every meal is a picnic!  I am so over it, but I will admit that their excitement makes me a little excited about the change of pace as well.

Obviously it isn't finished yet, but I am really loving the results so far!  I need your help because I have a couple of questions about the kitchen design aspects, but I will save that for another post. 

Sick of our Trip pictures yet?

This was the last morning of our trip.  We finally had some good weather, and Scott was home, so he brought out a horse for the kiddos!

Mara thought she was pretty amazing (which she totally is)

Logan was holding on for dear life, and then realized it was super duper cool

I think Logan was yelling like a he-man

gorgeous!

Add caption

He thought the tractor was pretty sweet, then Scott started it up, and I think he pooped his pants.  This was the look on his face!

We had SOOO much fun, and cannot wait until the end of June when we go back again!  This time with daddy!